HART, HIND ( ’ayyâl, ’ayyâlâh , and ’ayyeleth ). This is the fallow-deer, the ’iyyâl of the Arabs, Cervus dama . It is not common in W. Palestine to-day, but evidently was so once ( 1 Kings 4:23 ): it is mentioned as a clean animal in Deuteronomy 12:15; Deuteronomy 12:22 etc. Its habits when pursued are referred to in Psalms 42:1 and Lamentations 1:6 . The ‘fallow-deer’ of Deuteronomy 14:5 and 1 Kings 4:23 refers to the roe (wh. see). The hind is mentioned in Genesis 49:21 , Job 39:1 , Psalms 29:9 etc. Its care of its young ( Jeremiah 14:5 ), the secrecy of its hiding-place when calving ( Job 39:1 ), and its timidity at such times ( Psalms 29:9 ) are all noticed. In Genesis 49:21 Naphtali is compared to ‘a hind let loose,’ although many prefer to render a ‘slender terebinth.’
E. W. G. Masterman.